There Is a Market for EVERYTHING

Don’t get me wrong, working in the financial sector is as demanding as you probably think and perhaps even more demanding than that. The typical working day entails long hours, with the daily workload to get through stretching way beyond the normal office hours. Whether you’re a Chartered Accountant, an Auditor, a Bookkeeper, Financial Planner, Financial Advisor, etc., it gets really, really hectic. One thing working in the financial sector isn’t however, is boring! Despite what you may have heard particularly about “numbers people,” no two days are ever really the same, especially if you’re dealing with the books and transactions of a long line of clients who are economically active in various different markets.

What I’ve Learned

From those disputed transactions which consumers get in touch with us about to try and cancel or reverse, to spouses enquiring about some dubious spending patterns on a joint account – I’d have thought by now I’ve seen and heard it all, but no – it can get rather interesting at times. This makes for some workplace entertainment only people working in the financial sector will experience and we sometimes all have a good laugh at the office. One particular client who had had their card skimmed while on an overseas trip to Las Vegas didn’t follow up on the requirements to have the subsequent fraudulent transaction on their account reversed, which entailed bringing along his spouse to sign a sworn statement as witness to him having been at a certain place at a certain time. Naturally one would suspect that the spouse doesn’t or “isn’t supposed to know” about said trip because the client simply didn’t come back with those requirements.

I swear I could write an entire book about these sorts of things or even write a blockbuster movie script. What I’ve learned though from the other side of the financial transactions, if you like, is that there is a market for everything on this planet (and beyond, apparently). You can create what is generally considered to be an insane and stupid product or service and they’ll be someone, somewhere looking to give you their money for it. Even ideas sell and it appears to be just a matter of finding those people who are willing to buy whatever it is you’re selling.

I speak specifically about there being a market for everything even beyond this planet because on one occasion, an account which was only four days old at the time had a red-flag raised for suspicious activity. Lots of people were making deposits of between £49 and £99, and I mean LOTS of people. The system flags this sort of thing as a possible case to look at, but after some thorough investigation, it turned out not to be anything illegal at all. What many people were buying was some real estate on planet Mars, apparently getting their piece of what will “be some valuable real estate” once we’ve successfully managed to travel to Mars and back as the human race!